External technology commercialisation as an alternative mode of technology marketing

Byline: Ulrich Lichtenthaler External Technology Commercialisation (ETC) refers to the commercialisation of disembodied technological knowledge, either exclusively or in addition to its application in own products of a firm. Recently, a few firms have realised enormous benefits by externally leveraging technology assets. Most firms, however, experience major difficulties when they try to actively use the external mode of technology marketing. Despite these difficulties, a substantial increase in ETC could be observed during the last years. Therefore, the present paper focuses on ETC as a complementary mode of technology marketing to balance the focus of prior works on the application of technology inside the firm. Based on an analysis of the existing literature, the characteristics of the ETC perspective are detailed, and the strategic and monetary functions of ETC are examined. Then, an integrated approach to technology marketing is developed, which may help to explain the contradictory situation of enormous benefits and major managerial difficulties in ETC. A more holistic approach is particularly relevant due to the strong interdependencies between internal and external technology exploitation. Finally, the implications of an integrated technology marketing approach for research and practice are discussed, and suggestions for further research are given.